I’ve watched a lot of Chinese movies as of late. As I dig deep into the second draft of my new novel, a Chinese epic war saga, I wanted to immerse myself in the arts and culture of the Middle Kingdom, so I can add as much of that flavor to the stew of my

Like a tsunami silently gathering far out at sea, a revolution is coming to the movie business that will make the seismic changes experienced by the book and music industries in recent years look tiny by comparison. One technology will make this possible, one you might not expect: 3D game engines. In the last few

Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. I just got back from Man of Steel. It’s getting mixed reviews and for good reason. As a writer I’m always breaking down plots to understand them. I need to see why they succeed and why they fail. Overall, Man of Steel looked promising. The commercials had the right mythic

There are a ton of fan made Star Wars movies out there, but none as beautifully crafted as this one. You can click the CC at the bottom of the video to see a translation from the original Italian. I’m amazed by the beautiful special effects and design. It feels gritty and real, yet touched

Contagion may be the best outbreak movie ever made, except for the ending. For 75% of the movie, the story builds in a quietly insidious way. The dialogue is clipped and revealing. Take for instance when one of the main characters is told early on that his wife died. “When can I talk to her”

Today I decided I wanted to get Ghost in the Shell on Blu-Ray and realized that they’d done a new version of it, called Ghost in the Shell 2.0. They redid some of the animations and added some excellent CG. It wasn’t a complete hit according to the Amazon reviews. Although, as any author will

I can’t decide whether Sucker Punch is a good movie. It’s not a great movie, but it certainly has some iconic imagery and goddamn it, it’s a fun to watch. Sometimes critics take every movie too seriously. Something that is supposed to be entertainment suddenly becomes a chore and drudgery. Even people living their dreams

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the those books that makes you feel like you’ve found a hidden gem. Then you learn that a few years back it outsold Harry Potter and you realize you’re not the only one who stayed up all night reading this fantastic thriller trilogy. While the first